Daily Recap — October 9

HALEY STEPPING DOWN

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Recovering(?) NeverTrumper Nikki Haley abruptly resigned as the U.S. ambassador to the UN today, a move that came as a surprise to everyone except her inner most circle.

She announced her decision during a meeting with PDT in the Oval Office a week after sending him written notice of her resignation, saying she wanted to take a break from public service and vowing to back Trump for reelection in 2020.

“It’s been eight years of intense time and I’m a big believer in term limits,” Haley said. “You have to be selfless enough to know when you step aside and allow someone else to do the job.”

It was so out of left field that even her own State Dept. employees are calling it a ‘shock,’ which is leading many to speculate that she has further political ambitions that her current position may be holding up.

“No, I’m not running for 2020. I can promise you what I’ll be doing is campaigning for this one. So, I look forward to supporting the president in the next election,” Haley said while sitting beside PDT

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Haley has been a valuable member of the Trump administration. Not only has she been a forceful advocate for Trump policies on the world stage, but her status among the establishment GOP helped to bridge gaps between Trump loyalists and the NeverTrump wing of the party.

Once known for her sharp critiques of Trump, she managed to build a strong relationship with the president even as she at times displayed a willingness to challenge him publicly. She notably replied that she “doesn’t get confused” when she received some pushback from Trump and his advisers on comments related to Russian sanctions. She also made headlines by calling for Trump’s obviously fake sexual assault accusers from the 2016 campaign to be further heard.

At the same time, Haley delivered on the Trump foreign policy agenda. She (rightly) chastised the UN on many occasions, echoing the sentiments of not only PDT but his true supporters who are wary of an unaccountable global body’s say in our domestic affairs. She also made a habit of pointing out the UN’s absurdities in a way that hadn’t been previously expressed, announcing in June the United States’s withdrawal from the UN Human Rights Council due to its shameful history as a “protector of human rights abusers, and a cesspool of political bias.”

Regardless of one’s views of Haley overall – I count myself as a skeptic – it’s hard to argue against the job she’s done. A UN ambassador’s job is to promote the president’s agenda on the world stage, and to that end she performed admirably.

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Motives For Leaving?

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The good(?) thing about the internet is there is never any shortage of speculation on any given topic. Thus, it took no time at all for professional and amateur pundits alike to chime in with the real story behind Haley’s resignation. Let’s add one more amateur take to the list. Below are some possible reasons for her departure.

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TERM LIMITS:

While sitting beside PDT in the Oval Office, Haley explained to reporters how hard she had worked over the last eight years. That time included six years as South Carolina’s governor. She added that she believed in term limits.

“It’s been eight years of intense time, and I’m a believer in term limits,” Haley said. “I think you have to be selfless enough to know when you step aside and allow someone else to do the job.”

According to PDT, Haley also informed him 6 months ago that she would be wanting a break soon, so this move wasn’t completely unexpected. When conducting an analysis of a person’s intentions, their own words must carry some weight (unless we’re dealing with a full-blown Hillary type). Maybe she really does just believe in term limits and feels that her time has run its course.

Maybe.

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PRIVATE FLIGHTS:

.On Sunday, watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or Crew, filed a complaint with the State Department’s inspector general to investigate seven private flights Haley took with South Carolina businessmen last year.

“Ambassador Haley asserted that each gifted flight qualified for an exception based on a personal relationship with the giver. The report, however, does not provide enough information to demonstrate that this exception was applicable to the flights,” CREW said in a press release.

From what I can gather, there wasn’t enough evidence to outright accuse Haley of corruption in relation to these flights. It is possible, however, that Haley is getting out ahead of any further investigations that may be inbound.

Haley has yet to publicly comment about the allegations.

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PRESIDENTIAL AMBITIONS:

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There’s very little doubt that Haley has her eye on the White House at some point in the future. This has never been a secret. She even brought her most trusted political adviser — and pollster — Jon Lerner to the UN with her. Being politically savvy enough to understand the rumors that would be spawned by today’s announcement, though, she laughed off the possibility during her comments, not only denying a desire to run but announcing she would be campaigning for PDT in 2020.

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In truth, Haley is too smart to run against Trump in 2020. He’s among the most popular Republican presidents ever among Republican voters. No one is beating Trump in a primary in 2020 — not Haley, not Kasich, not anyone.

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BUT, just because Haley isn’t running in 2020 doesn’t mean she isn’t running. Remember that whether Trump wins or loses in 2020, the 2024 Republican nomination will be open. Yes, VP Pence is the most likely candidate — particularly if Trump wins a second term in 2020. And he will be The Trump Candidate™.

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It could be that Haley is making political moves in the meantime to set up that 2020 run. Like, say, running for senator in South Carolina to replace Lindsey Graham, who is rumored to be under consideration to replace Keebler Jeff Sessions as AG.

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I’d put the probability of this scenario at less than 20%, but it can’t be dismissed out of hand.

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Possible Replacements:

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PDT said he intends to name a replacement for Haley in two to three weeks and reportedly has five people on his short list.

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Dina Powell

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As Trump would say, “Aye-yai-yai.”

Powell is a RINO darling who came to the Trump administration from Goldman Sachs and served as both a top economic adviser to the president and, more formally, as a deputy national-security adviser. Along with Gary Cohn, she was part of the globalist faction who arrived at the White House with close ties to Wall Street. The Powell/Cohn gang were seen as allies of Ivanka and Jared in the internal West Wing battle against nationalist advisers such as Stephen Miller and Steve Bannon. Powell does have government experience, however, having worked in the White House and the State Department during the Dubya administration.

Powell is rumored to be the frontrunner for the spot, unfortunately.

“She is certainly a person I would consider. She is under consideration,” PDT said this afternoon.

Come on, Mr. President. I trust your judgment, but please give us an America-firster to represent us on the world stage.

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Richard Grenell

A favorite of conservatives for his brash style, Grenell served as the spokesman for the U.S. mission to the UN for the entirety of the Dubya administration. Trump nominated him in September 2017 to serve as the ambassador to Germany, but the Senate didn’t confirm him until April, citing his “partisan jabs against Dim women.” Grenell is known for many things, but “jabbing women” isn’t chief among them, if you know what I mean.

Grenell already has some momentum within the conservative movement. Within an hour of Haley’s resignation, he won the endorsement of the commentator Hugh Hewitt, who had pushed aggressively for his confirmation as the envoy to Germany and called him “the obvious choice” for UN ambassador.

A Grenell nomination may be a bit of tougher sell for Senate confirmation, but it’s one we can win. He can always pull the “stop picking on the gay guy” card. Hey man, use the Left’s own tactics against them.

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Brian Hook

A veteran diplomat who has served in a staff role at the UN, Hook is one of the few top advisers to former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson who stayed in a senior role under Pompeo. He was named a special envoy to Iran in August and has been the tip of the spear in many ways regarding the Iranian threat.

By all accounts, he’s well qualified for the position.

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Ivanka Trump

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Good Lord, can we be serious for a second here? Ivanka should not even be mentioned in the list for this job. She’s grossly unqualified and not even an ardent supporter of her own father’s agenda. She’s a New York liberal who only a couple weeks ago was urging PDT to “cut bait” with Justice Kavanaugh.

The good news is PDT has already popped that trial balloon.

“I would be accused of nepotism even though I’m not sure there’s anyone more competent in the world,” he told reporters.

Mr. President while I appreciate that your having kind words for your daughter, you would be accused of nepotism because Ivanka has virtually no qualifications aside from being the president’s daughter. Let’s not be the Kennedy administration, please. People typically don’t go from selling handbags on QVC to giving facing down nuclear dictators on the world stage. We would be rightly laughed at for putting her in such a position. Thankfully, that won’t be the case, as Ivanka has ruled herself out.

“It is an honor to serve in the White House alongside so many great colleagues and I know that the president will nominate a formidable replacement for Ambassador Haley,” she tweeted. “That replacement will not be me.”

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Joe Lieberman

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The former Dim and independent senator from Connecticut and Al Gore’s 2000 running mate may not seem like a typical choice for the Trump administration, but reliable sources are reporting that Lieberman is being considered due to his support of PDT’s pro-Israel policies, especially as they relate to security and settlements. Lieberman would also lend bipartisan credibility to the president’s hardline stance, though I personally think that angle is overrated.

Does anyone really believe Dims would start supporting PDT’s foreign policy if he brings Lieberman into the fold? Let’s not be naive here. That being said, he would almost certainly have the smoothest Senate confirmation process.

Frankly, I like Lieberman. I don’t like agree with is broader ideology, obviously, but he’s a decent man and a statesman. He may be a former Dim, but I can think of quite a few Republicans that I’d put below Lieberman on my list. He’s a throwback to the old days when Dims actually liked America.

That being said, I’d be shocked if he were chosen.

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BIG PICTURE:

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Haley’s loss stings. She’s done a great job in that role and our country is just really starting to hit its stride in terms of laying down the law and being respected again on the world stage.

It’s also unfortunate timing, as the GOP had been riding high on its recent enthusiasm boost from the Kavanaugh episode only to see one of the highest profile Trump cabinet members join the scores of others who have left early.

Perhaps the most important part of today’s news, however, is the full-steam-ahead-behind-Trump message Haley delivered in her parting remarks. Haley is a figurehead of sorts for the alliance between the GOP establishment and Trump base that is critical if we’re to churn out the voters necessary to stave off the coochie cap revolution.

Love or hate her, we need Nikki Haley on the campaign trail bringing the milquetoast Republicans home. By all accounts, it appears that’s exactly what she’ll be doing.

Thanks, Ambassador Haley. And thank you for representing our country forcefully and faithfully before the entire world.

You were a breath of fresh air in a decidedly stale organization.

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LEAKIN,’ CRYIN’ CHUCK?

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Not everyone is willing to just let go of the shameful smear operation that was just launched against an honorable Supreme Court nominee. Some of us want answers and for people to be held accountable once we get them. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) finds himself among our number.

Sen. Cotton said today he “strongly suspects” Senate Dim Leader Chuck Schumer was behind the leak of the fake letter sent to Congress by accuser Tawana Brawley Ford.

Complyin’ Ted Cruz has joined Cotton in calling for an investigation into how a letter from Ford alleging that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in high school was made public, supposedly despite Ford’s wishes.

“I believe the Schumer political operation was behind this from the very beginning,” Cotton told Hugh Hewitt in an interview this morning.

Cotton noted recent media reports that FBI agent Monica McLean, a friend of Ford’s, pressured key witness Leland Keyser into changing her statement to the FBI after Keyser reported that not only does she not remember the party where Kavanaugh was accused of assaulting Ford, but that she didn’t know Kavanaugh at all.

“We learned last week that a woman named Monica McClean was Ms. Ford’s roommate, and she was one of the so-called beach friends who encouraged Ms. Ford to go to Dianne Feinstein and the partisan Democrats on the Judiciary Committee,” Cotton said.

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Cotton said the fact that McClean once worked for former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara indicates that Schumer’s political operation was involved in the leak because Bharara used to work for Schumer on Capitol Hill.

“So I strongly suspect that Chuck Schumer’s political operations knew about Ms. Ford’s allegations as far back as July and manipulated the process all along,” he said.

“Another fairy tale from Sen. Cotton, reminiscent of his trip to the White House when he lied about what the president said about immigrants from Africa,” House said, referring to a White House meeting in January at which PDT reportedly called certain countries OMG SHITHOLES.

That’s called a deflection, ladies and gentlemen.

Cotton, Cruz and other Republicans are pushing for an investigation into how Ford’s letter became public after she requested that Feinstein keep her name confidential.

Feinstein has repeatedly denied leaking the letter and says her staff didn’t leak it either.

Cotton last month called for an investigation of Feinstein and her staff.

“There is a well-established process of confidentiality on that committee,” Cotton told the Fake News at the end of last month. “Dianne Feinstein and her staff are going to face an investigation for why they leaked that.”

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Cotton has also called for an investigation of Ford’s lawyers, the Clinton-approved Debra Katz and Lisa Banks, by the D.C. bar association for not communicating to their client that Judiciary panel investigators were willing to fly to California to interview her in private instead of having her testify in public before the committee in open session.

If you’ll recall, Dr. Ford claimed that she had no idea that the offer to fly out to California had even been made — pretty odd considering the letter was public and posted everywhere online. Either Ford’s lawyers are guilty of gross malpractice, Ford is a liar or both.

I’m going with Option C.

For her part, Feinstein recently told reporters that “I didn’t break any law” and called Cotton’s call for an investigation “pretty ridiculous.”

She also told colleagues on the Judiciary Committee when Kavanaugh testified before the panel earlier this month that neither she nor her staff leaked Ford’s letter.

Feinstein says she kept the document confidential out of respect for Ford’s wishes and doesn’t know how its existence became public.

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Keep digging, Sen. Cotton. I’m not forgetting about this and I hope no one else will, either.

We need justice for this.

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BAKER DELIVERING THE GOODS?

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Last week we learned that former top FBI attorney James Baker had been telling Congress some decidedly inconvenient facts for James Comey and crew, specifically related to the partnership between the pee-pee dossier pushers and the bureau themselves during the 2016 election. It now appears that he was just getting started.

Deep State slayer Devin Nunes said Sunday there is now “absolute proof” that the FBI failed to inform the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) of the grossly political nature of the document, including its origins, when applying to spy on onetime Trump campaign wannabe Carter Page.

Baker reportedly told congressional investigators last week in a closed session that a Dim-connected attorney from the law firm linked to the controversial Trump dossier gave him materials about Russian election meddling to the FBI’s general counsel during the 2016 presidential campaign.

This is important for two reasons. First, Baker was very tight with Leakin’ James Comey. If there are bodies buried, Baker likely knows where they are. Secondly, it proves that someone is lying. Comey and his gang at the bureau swear that nobody knowed nuffin about how the dossier was being employed as a political tool. Baker’s testimony clearly contradicts that claim. So who is lying? My money is on Leakin’ James.

“Numerous officials at the DOJ and the FBI have told us under oath … nobody at FBI or DOJ knew anything about that the Democratic Party being behind the Clinton dirt,” Nunes said. “Now you have one of the top lawyers for the Democrats and the Clinton campaign who was feeding information directly to the top lawyer at the FBI.”

“Before even the FISA warrant,” he continued. “Now you have absolute proof that that wasn’t told to the FISA court. So you want evidence of FISA abuse? There it is right there.”

Well said.

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But wait, there’s more…

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Our buddy John Solomon over at The Hill continues to do great reporting on all things #PutinGate, and this week has been no exception.

You’ll recall a story in the failing New York Times several weeks ago in which a conversation was had between Fraud Rosenstein, Deep State McCabe and FBI home wrecker Lisa Page regarding the secret recording of PDT for the purpose of invoking the 25th Amendment. Rosenstein asserts that he was lashing out in a sarcastic manner to McCabe’s overzealous desire to “do something” about Trump.

Welp, according to Baker, it may have been a joke to Rosenstein, but it was anything but for McCabe and co.

Taken directly from Solomon’s report:

Baker told Congress last week that his boss — then-acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe — was dead serious about the idea of surreptitiously recording the 45th president and using the evidence to make the case that Trump should be removed from office, according to my sources.

Baker told lawmakers he wasn’t in the meeting McCabe had with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in which the subject came up. But he did have firsthand conversations with McCabe and the FBI lawyer assigned to McCabe, Lisa Page, about the issue.

“As far as Baker was concerned, this was a real plan being discussed,” said a source directly familiar with the congressional investigation. “It was no laughing matter for the FBI.”

Word of Baker’s testimony surfaced just days before Rosenstein was set to be interviewed in private on Thursday by House Judiciary Committee lawmakers.

Since The New York Times first reported the allegations, Rosenstein, the No. 2 Department of Justice (DOJ) official, has tried to downplay his role in them. His office has suggested that he thought the discussions were a joke, that Rosenstein never gave an order to carry out such a plot, and that he does not believe Trump should be removed from office.

Somebody’s got some ‘splainin to dooooooooooooo.

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While Baker’s testimony doesn’t necessarily contradict Rosenstein’s claims, it does beg the question of just how much currency the prospect of secretly recording PDT had within the bureau. If Rosenstein never issued such an order or ever seriously entertained doing so, he at least has to answer for the fact that those under his command deemed it a viable option.

Baker’s testimony speaks to the overall climate and culture of the FBI before and after PDT took office, which also raises questions regarding what other (possibly illegal) steps may have been taken to undermine or even overthrow a duly elected president.

Another damning aspect of the “25th Amendment” convo was its timing, which was directly after Leakin’ James Comey was fired. If there were ever a time when the bureau began to panic, that would be it. If Comey got the axe, who was next? And what would be revealed about them in the process? Put yourself in the shoes of a nervous deep-stater and it all begins to make sense.

We still don’t have a definitive answer for what exactly Cooter Strzok meant when he spoke of an “insurance policy” against Trump — one that was hatched in McCabe’s office, no less.

Again, taken from Solomon’s report:

“You walk away from the Baker interview with little doubt that the FBI leadership in that 2016-17 time frame saw itself as far more than a neutral investigative agency but actually as a force to stop Trump’s election before it happened and then maybe reversing it after the election was over,” said a source directly familiar with the congressional investigation.

Baker is painting a picture of a supposed non-partisan organization transforming itself into the law enforcement arm of the #Resistance. This isn’t a revelation to anyone who’s paid even cursory attention to this story, but we now have a guy on the inside confirming it all under oath.

What a time to be alive.

He wasn’t done, though:

Baker provided some other valuable insights in his congressional interview. As I reported last week, he revealed that he accepted information in the Russia investigation from a lawyer for the Democratic National Committee.

And my sources also confirm that Baker admitted he received a version of the Steele dossier from left-leaning reporter David Corn of Mother Jones magazine, and then forwarded it to Strzok’s team. Corn says that occurred in November 2016, right after the election.

That transaction is significant for two reasons. First, at the time, Steele had just been fired from the FBI probe for leaking to the media and he wasn’t supposed to be further assisting the probe. So Corn essentially acted as a back door to allow information to continue to flow.

Not only is Baker exposing the bureau, but their partners in the media. As we’ve all seen for quite a while now, the FBI (and myriad other government organizations) routinely work hand in hand with the propagandist media in order to legitimize their corrupt deeds.

Again, we’ve known this for a while, but now we have confirmation from a guy on the other team.

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BIG PICTURE:

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With each passing day, the “conspiracy theory” that high level FBI officials sought to use their power in a soft coup against Trump edges closer to becoming conspiracy fact.

While the FBI/DOJ continues to insult our intelligence regarding the “national security risks” inherent in declassifying documents related to the Russia investigation, evidence continues to mount to a point that the only thing left to do is fill out the details. And what might fill out those details? You guessed it — the documents PDT ordered declassified!

Needless to say, the failure to do so has been maddening, to put it charitably.

Rep, Nunes certainly feels our pain:

“If [PDT] does not declassify it, he’s going to let these criminals — this criminal activity and fraudulent behavior — people are going away with it if this information is not declassified so that all of the American people can see,” Nunes said.

After issuing the declassification order last week, which included FISA applications and Russia-related texts from the Comey gang, PDT reversed course days later after meeting with DOJ officials. Those officials, who haven’t been explicitly named but surely include Fraud Rosenstein and J. Edgar Wray, warned that the move could be perceived as “tampering with the Russia investigation.” He also heard concerns from “key allies,” which led him to ultimately leave it to the DOJ inspector general to review the documents.

I have a very difficult time believing PDT is allowing the DOJ to handle this matter. In fact, I’d bet a pretty penny that some damning information is coming down the pipe just in time for the midterms.

Trump is nothing if not an effective user of information, or any other weapon that can be employed to defeat his enemies.

At this point, it’s a matter of how much rope he’d like to concede to his enemies for their own hanging. Think of it this way — if PDT had gone scorched-earth declassification months ago, we wouldn’t have contradictory statements from top officials on the record. Now, we have Comey in a position of being caught in a lie before the raw materials are even released. It’s much tougher for him to mount an effective defense in that scenario, and #BelieveMe, PDT knows it.

I know many of you are tired of hearing, “It’s coming!” Trust me, so am I.

But that doesn’t change the fact that it’s coming.

See you tomorrow, Trumpers.

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1 thought on “Daily Recap — October 9”

I especially appreciate your analysis of Nikki Haley and all the possible motives. I’m miffed at her for voluntarily leaving just when she was hitting her stride. Seems disloyal to me whether she campaigns for POTUS or not and I will remember that if she ever runs herself. As for the FISA/corruption stuff: egad, this slow roll out is killing me.